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The Republican field for the U.S. Senate race in 2012 was narrowed to two today after J. Kenneth
Blackwell announced that he would not run for the nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod
Brown.

The 2006 GOP nominee for governor
announced via
Twitter this afternoon he will not be a Senate candidate, later issuing a statement saying "it
is unfair to the conservative objective of defeating Sherrod Brown to stretch out my
decision-making process any further."

Blackwell's decision leaves state Treasurer Josh Mandel of Lyndhurst and former state Sen. Kevin
Coughlin of Cuyahoga Falls as the potential challengers to Brown. Coughlin has announced his
candidacy, while Mandel has indicated he will officially enter the race soon.

In a statement Blackwell first released to
The Daily Caller, a national blog founded by GOP commentator Tucker Carlson, Blackwell
said that among other reasons he decided not to run is because it "would require me to make 'nice'
with folks with whom I would rather not."

That comment was not explained, but might have been directed at Kevin DeWine, chairman of the
Ohio Republican Party, who gave Blackwell's potential candidacy a chilly reception when Blackwell
told
The Dispatch in April that he was thinking about running.

In an email this afternoon to
The Dispatch, DeWine said, "Our state and nation have been fortunate to receive many years
of Ken's service and dedication to conservative ideals, and I'm sure they will continue to do so
for years to come.

"The Ohio Republican Party remains committed to ensuring that the United State Senate's most
liberal member and Barack Obama's left-hand man, Sherrod Brown, is a one term U.S. senator."

In his statement, Blackwell said that after serving in the offices of Cincinnati mayor, Ohio
treasurer and secretary of state, he would "much prefer an executive office over a legislative
office."

Blackwell, 63, also said: "Since I have always said that I would not personally engage in
campaigning for elective office past age 70, I could not and would not run for re-election if
successful this time. I believe to get done what needs to be done in the U.S. Senate, the next
senator needs to make a two-term commitment. I cannot."

In a criticism of the state party, Blackwell said he has received strong encouragement from
conservatives in Ohio and nationally, "a source of political strength that the GOP establishment
has never been able to grasp."

The Ohio GOP has not endorsed a Senate candidate, but a number of its leaders, including
Secretary of State Jon Husted, already have thrown their support to Mandel, the former state
representative who has been treasurer just six months.

Blackwell, who lost the 2006 governor's race to Democrat Ted Strickland by almost 24 points,
presented a formidable challenge to Mandel and Coughlin for support from the conservative base of
the GOP.

Ohio Democrats, sensing that Mandel is the GOP frontrunner, have been pounding him for filing a
mandatory candidacy financial-disclosure form late and for sending out congratulatory notes to new
college graduates at state expense.

"We leave it to the GOP to decide if they would rather nominate an ethically-challenged and
newly-elected treasurer who promised to serve the full four years of his term, or a do-nothing
former state senator," Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Justin Barasky said in a statement.